Schedule Released for WSOP Super Circuit Online in May

Canadians were already somewhat limited in the choices for live poker, as card rooms aren’t exactly located in every city. But there were some options, even if it meant traveling to Las Vegas for the annual World Series of Poker or to Playground Poker for WSOP Circuit events.

The coronavirus pandemic took all of that away. And with a likely ongoing need for social distancing, COVID-19’s impact could go well beyond these few months for poker players.

Technology = Options

Online poker is one solution that works for everyone. And when the pandemic closed down all land-based poker options – not to mention travel – poker tournament organizers took their events online.

As for the World Series of Poker, it experienced quite a few cancellations due to the virus. The US-based WSOP Circuit series was put on hold at about the same time as its international WSOP-C. And then, just last week, the WSOP made its biggest announcement yet. The 2020 WSOP was officially postponed.

This type of 101-event tournament series, one with such prestige and tradition, is not easily put online. Since many countries have restrictive online gambling laws (hello, United States, Australia, France, Spain, Italy, etc.), it is not possible to host a worldwide online poker series that gives everyone an equal opportunity to play.

Thus, the fate of the 2020 WSOP very much hangs in the balance.

WSOP Circuit Solutions

The World Series of Poker did have a solution for its WSOP Circuit events, though. It first went online for the few American states that could participate, and that WSOP-C online series was a massive success. The WSOP then wanted to put its international WSOP-C series online.

Players weren’t sure what to expect, other than a series of 18 tournaments sometime in May with all of the bells and whistles of a traditional WSOP Circuit series – the gold rings, the seats to the WSOP Global Casino Championship.

In the week since, Canadian players have been exploring GGPoker to see what they can expect from the upcoming series. Yet and still, the announcement this week took many by surprise.

Largest Online Poker Series Ever

Out of GGPoker’s home base in Toronto, the press release revealed that the WSOP Super Circuit Online Series will offer 595 tournaments and $100 million in guarantees. It will be the largest series ever offered in online poker history, surpassing the record of $85 million held by PokerStars.

Before players try to figure out how to navigate a schedule of 595 tournaments, let’s clarify that only 18 of those events will be official WSOP gold-ring events. They will be the highlights and base points of the series, complete with buy-ins from $50 to $250,000 and millions in guarantees.

The schedule of those 18 WSOP-C events is as follows, with the Main Event highlighted:

Event 1 (May 3): $1,111 NLHE Covid Charity with $1M GTD

Event 2 (May 3): $50 NLHE Kick-Off (final day) with $500K GTD

Event 3 (May 4): $210 NLHE Deepstack Bounty Hunters with $500K GTD

Event 4 (May 10): $200 NLHE Monster Stack with $500K GTD

Event 5 (May 10): $500 NLHE Big 500 (final day) with $2M GTD

Event 6 (May 12): $210 NLHE Deepstack Bounty Hunters with $500K GTD

Event 7 (May 17): $200 NLHE Monster Stack with $500K GTD

Event 8 (May 17): $25K NLHE High Roller Championship with $10M GTD

Event 9 (May 17): $100 NLHE Mini Main Event (final day) with $1M GTD

Event 10 (May 17): $10K PLO High Roller Championship with $1M GTD

Event 11 (May 19): $210 NLHE Deepstack Bounty Hunters with $500K GTD

Event 12 (May 24): $200 NLHE Monster Stack with $500K GTD

Event 13 (May 24): $400 NLHE Colossus (final day) with $2M GTD

Event 14 (May 26): $210 NLHE Deepstack Bounty Hunters with $500K GTD

Event 15 (May 31): $200 NLHE Monster Stack with $500K GTD

Event 16 (May 31): $1K PLO Main Event (final day) with $1M GTD

Event 17 (May 31): $1K NLHE Main Event (final day) with $5M GTD

Event 18 (May 31): $500 NLHE Turbo Closer with $500K GTD

Event 1 is a ring event but also a fundraiser for the Nevada COVID-19 Task Force. The $111 tournament fee from every buy-in will be donated to that charity.

There are several tournaments for which “final day” is the date listed for the event. That means the tournament offers multiple starting flights over multiple days. There will always be flights earlier on the same day as the event, but some start many days before. These allow players to enter and reenter each one and bring the largest stack to the final day.

The 43 starting flights for Event 2 have already begun on April 28 and will run through May 3.

The full schedule is at the bottom of this GGPoker page, with Day 1 designations for starting flights.

Share

Jennifer Newell

Jennifer Newell has been writing about poker and gambling since 2004. As the online gaming sectors have changed and grown, particularly in the United States and Canada, she has followed it all and written about it for websites like World Poker Tour and PokerScout. In her free time, she runs a small business, reads, cooks, and enjoys music.